1.Pick the flowers in the morning when they are open to their fullest. You can use both the male and female flowers.The males will be attached to a thin stem, the females to a developing zucchini.

2.Carefully wash any insects (usually just small ants) from the flowers and clean out the pistil and stamens all the way to their bottoms. The female pistils will be more elaborate than the male stamens. A tweezers works best for this.

3. Store the flowers in the frig between moistened paper towels. You can use them for dinner that evening or they will keep for one day.

4. Stuff the zucchini with just about anything you want. I prefer a mixture of romano-pecorino cheese with some finally chopped basel mixed in.

5. Fold the leaves together and dip into a mixed egg.

6. Coat the flowers with Panco (breadcrumbs or flour will work too, but I like Panco best).

7.Using a shallow pan, fry in olive oil, turning the flowers to keep the browning even.

When the breading is browned, the flowers are done.

8. Serve immediately.

HINTS:
If you have a problem with lot of tiny ants, gently fill the flower with cold water. Use a tweezers to loosen the ants clinging to the inside part of the flower where you removed the pistil or stamen. The little ants like to cling to the delicate leaves, but you can carefully remove them with the tweezers.